The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-13
CLARA BELLE.

CLARA BELLE.
The Social Season Deficient In Gayety-An
Opera Singers Experiment..
Special to the indianapolis Journal.
NEW YORK, Feb. 12-The gayety of the social |
season no longer ruEs. It drifts Indulgers in /
fashionable frivolity have had just about enough |
of dancing, of amateur acting, of winter out |
door sports and of the opera for one season All |
zest in those things is gone Laziress rules. |
The tired belle yawns with her jaws, no matter
if she resolutey keeps her lips together, and the
bored beau stretches his arms within the con-
fines of his sleeves.
''Bai jove," drawled a chappie. as he crawled
through the corridor of the Metropolitan between
acts, 'yo ought toye seen Miss Myra's narrow
escape from dooced dreadful accident She
got drowsy, as she sat in fwont Of the bawx, and
almost fell"
.'Over the rail into the parquetl" the listener
exclaimed.
No, no, 1eah boy" was the reply; she leaned
forward the edge of her corsage-in her
sleepiness she forgot how low it was-and, pom
me SOUL if hadn't caught her she'd have fallen
out.s
Several tip toppy girls have not succumbed to
inertia. but have sought and found fresh means
of killing time. They have become cooks. Not
at unpoetical ranges in rudely prosaic kitchens
of course, but in dainty way, in their parlors
A neat. portable cas-stove and set of the finest
utensils are employed The amateur cook does
not turn her white hands to anything so sub
stantial as steaks or chops, but makes fluffy om-
elettes, French pancakes and various coafections
She aims to do it bewitchngy. for there are
spectators in a halfdozen or more guests She
stirs the ingredients with solid-siIver spoons in
decorative China vessels she fries or stews the
mixtures in hammered brass pan; she serves
the resultant vands in exquisite crockery; she
is helped at every move by quick, neat maid,
and what eater, under such pretty Circumstances.
can fail to declare that he has in his life
before tasted anything half so delicious9
Capt. Cecil Holmes has shocked society almost
wide awake. For three years he has ridden at
| the front in amateur steeple-chases and fox
hunts; he has been the most daring and success
| ful in the jumps at the horse shows; his delight
| fully English manners ard speech haye recon-
| mended him highly to the Anglonaniac. and
altogether ne has enjoyed superlatve precedence
| in swedom. Now he is to figure III divorce
| sut-not as a firter with rome wife in good
| society," which would be bad enough No doubt
| but commonplace e.oper with a woman
| of no pretense to respectability. His abjectlv
adorng love-letters are to be made public and
| the Fifth avenue girls who admired him are not
complimented by his choice.
| What the Astor set are going to DO in Lent
| can be foretold. They will bowl, ride, play at
| badlninton and several other things permissible
| to the sackcloth season, but for fad they will
| 60 into sewing classes. That is settled. Fine
| needle work viii! be achieved. or attempted, in
| weekly meetings at fashionable houses, and re-
| freshments will be an accompaniment to the
| stitching and the talking OF equally sharp
! needles and tongues- For ench circle profes-
| sional expert will he hired from the schools Of
| art and possibly by Easter some of tho bellies
| will he able to pass an examination in patching
| pair of trousers or sewing on shirt button
| But it isn't likely.
In the matter of clothes no perfect dandy of
| either sex will now protect them with um-
| brella. 1t has been discovered that. by appar-
ent recklessness of destruction distinction can
be gained over the herd of stvlishy dressed peo-
| pie. The miliopaires sor goes out into rain
wearing capc-overcoat, but with his silk bat
uncovered to the storm. In his case the cost ia
really not excessive for he only has to keep two
| hats-one to wear while the other is being
bocked-an6 replenish his top coats often. But
his sister INDUCES in the same whim at far
greater expense She protects herself with an
| enveioping cloak it is true, but she exposes her
| millinery to ruiuous wetting. and presents a
pacidly serene face under dripping pumes and
| sagging ribbons.
| -
Listlessness is settling down upon the world oil
fashion and riches. The beaux and bellies dance
languidly, and at the opera they are fairly som
nolent. Perhaps Anton Schott, the stalwart
German tenor, had observed this. So he re-
solved that his re-entrance on the stage of the
Metropolitan, after years absence, should moi
be lazily regarded. His device for rousing the
\ o,,as s,~o
J chosen for his experiment was "Rienzi," Wag
ner's earliest success 1t is full Of imposing
effects. and as popular in Europe for its scenic
display as for it's music or libretto. But it can
not be believed that Wagner himself ever
! dreamed of quite such realism that in tro
duced by Schott on the Metropolitan stage. Tht
climax OF spectacle comes in the third act wher,
an army OF warriors appears and marches, and
is addressed by the leader, Rienzi. who come.
! upon the scene on horseback. The tenors of tn,
} past have been mighty glad to get gentle fam:
ly horse. blind and deaf if possible. guaranteed
to stand still under any provocation. to serv'
them IN this trying scene. The libretto require
that battle song, one Of the gems Of tho opera
shall be sung from the saddle According to ira
dition when this has been successfully aecomp
pshed If the horse is not too frisky or hasn'
: died from old aga, the chief remains quietly il
he saddle while tine cohorts march off, and as
the curtain comes down the warrior tenor, il h,
: is particularly brave, just turns his horses hea,
to follow his troops, and it may be depended
upon that as soon as the curtain is way dowi
the chief is helped from his perilous perch Will
! rs much speed possible, and proceeds t.
thank goodness that his life has again beel
, spared. But Schott, it seems is not that kin,
. of warrior He is expert horseman, ant
feels perfectly at home in the saddle. And h.
thinks that a general going to battle should leas
his troops rather than review them. So whel
the army had marched in upon the stage. he as
tonishcd the house by bounding in at full
I eaop. 1t was no ancient cart horse he rode
and the effect of the battle song was tremeu
dous, as everybody was on the qui vive lest tn
! steed should take it into his head to com
! prancing over the footlights. But it was frr
Q hand that held the ren and serious accden
4 marred the effect. And when the song wa
. finished the audience was thunderstruck to se
School put the spurs to his horse gallon fur